The Harvard Cultural Council, along with State Representative Jennifer Benson and State Senator Jamie Eldridge announced earlier this month the award of 14 Local Cultural Council grants totaling $4,000 for programs in Harvard and at selected regional venues.
"It's the local HCC volunteers who really make this system work," said Senator Eldridge in a statement released Monday. "They make limited resources go as far as possible, and they make the tough decisions about which projects should be supported. Thanks to the work of the HCC, Harvard residents have access to arts and humanities that they might not otherwise."
The Harvard Cultural Council had 29 applications this year, said council chair Debra Vanderwerf.
"Each application was scored on community involvement and impact, quality/creativity, planning/dedication, financial need, and application completeness," she said. "We were thrilled to be able to award 14 programs with grants towards their overall funding. We encourage Harvard residents to take advantage of the programs awarded."
Three program supported by Harvard's Local Cultural Council grants may already be familiar to residents: the autumn visit of Caldecott Award-winning illustrator Beth Krommes, the Wolf Talk program for children held at the library in December, and Robert Hubert's "Towners" portrait project.
The Harvard Cultural Council is part of a network of 329 Local Cultural Councils serving all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts.
"The LCC Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences and humanities every year," said Benson. "I am proud that the state legislature consistently provides support for this program and look forward to seeing the grant recipients' work."
This year's Harvard Cultural Council grant recipients are:
- Robert Hubert for "Towners" – a Harvard Portrait Project
- Worcester Chamber Music Society for concerts in February and September 2012 at Harvard's Unitarian Universalist Church (free tickets available for seniors)
- The Discovery Museum in Acton for "Especially for Me" to support a series of events targeting children who are deaf, hard of hearing, or on the autism spectrum.
- Indian Hill Music to support free, monthly "Bach's Lunch" concerts
- Richard Clark to support "And Now Mark Twain" for the Harvard Council on Aging
- Nashoba Valley Concert Band for participation in Harvard's July 4 parade
- Harvard PTO for part-funding of Cultural Enrichment programs at Hildreth Elementary School
- The Solstice Sackbuts for a concert at the Library in June, 2012
- Harvard Community Theater to support the production of Harvard composer Jenny Giering's new musical "Crossing Brooklyn" in Harvard in April, 2012 and then subsequent participation in the Eastern Massachusetts Community Theatre Festival in June.
- Concerts at the Common to support the 2012-13 opening concert – the Lydian String Quartet - in September at Harvard's Unitarian Universalist Church.
- John Root for a lecture on Edible Perennial Gardening and Landscaping in March at the old library
- The Harvard Public Library to support Wolf Talk children's program
- For Art's Sake to bring Caldecott Award winner Beth Krommes to Harvard – to visit both Hildreth Elementary School third grade students and run a program at the Library
- The Fitchburg Art Museum to support the 77th Regional Exhibition of Art and Craft, which includes several participants from Harvard. This event runs from March to Septemeber and is a large summer attraction in the region.